Premier League CEO admits Man City's 115-charge ruling is taking longer than expected

Premier League CEO Richard Masters has admitted the independent commission ruling on Manchester City’s 115 alleged breaches of financial rules is taking longer than anticipated, with no verdict yet delivered more than 18 months after the disciplinary hearing ended.

City were charged with over 100 breaches of the Premier League’s spending rules following a lengthy investigation. The club has consistently maintained its innocence throughout the process.

“I do accept it’s taking longer than expected, and I understand that people want to find out as soon as possible what’s going on, but I simply can’t provide that,” Masters told the BBC. “Our rules are very clear — we have to follow the process, and there’s only one real clear route through, which is to allow that process to reach its natural conclusion.”

City are not the only top-flight club to have faced financial misconduct charges in recent seasons. Everton, Nottingham Forest and Leicester City have all been found in breach of Profit and Sustainability Rules and received points deductions as a result.

Chelsea’s situation drew a different resolution: the club were fined £10 million and handed a suspended transfer ban for breaching rules on agent payments, with a points deduction initially imposed before being cancelled on appeal.

Masters addressed why Chelsea’s case was handled differently, pointing to the co-operation of the club’s new ownership and the limitations of the available evidence. “In the situation with Chelsea, obviously it’s historic. It’s very different to PSR cases. The new owners came forward with all the information, and we decided to enter a sanction agreement,” he said.

“The key difference is, given the evidence base and given the lack of witnesses — none of the people involved with these payments are still at the club — we were not able to interview them, the evidence base isn’t complete. The alternative to entering the sanction agreement was to go down a contested commission route. I’m not sure we’d have been able to bring all of the charges that the club ultimately admitted to.”

Masters acknowledged the decision to pursue a sanction agreement with Chelsea rather than a full hearing was not universally popular. “We took a decision that the sanction agreement was the best thing for the league, and we’re fully aware that not everyone agrees that that was the right course of action, and we just have to accept that.”